Saturday, March 31, 2012

yellow pants, the outcome

Well, it has been f-o-r-e-v-e-r since my last post! sorry...I have been staying so busy that I haven't taken the time to talk about it. But I need to document this stuff, since my memory isn't as great as I wish it was!

I did finish the yellow pants. Remember, I cut off the top of the back and created a yoke to sew on instead...the yoke was larger than the area removed from the upper pant, so it was to fill in the space at the sideseam.
It worked.

The new yoke provided a decent fit in the high hip area.
However, I still need a longer back crotch extension to eliminate those wrinkles under the bum! These are the same wrinkles I had on the NAVY PANTS.


Overall, the fit is not bad.


But they aren't perfect.


They are a little tight across the area UNDER my tummy.




In the side view, you can see how they contour the tummy. This isn't always awful...a little contouring keeps the overall silhouette smaller, and since I generally wear my tops untucked, this doesn't always show.



This picture below demonstrates the waist tilt problem. Even after all my finaggling, I still didn't get it just right on these! The center back is a bit low as compared to the side-waist, as is the center front. this is one of those things that is hard to nail until you get all the other elements worked out. The amount of slant of the center back seam can make a difference in whether or not the back waist sits high enough...ditto the front. But I generally don't change the front slant too much.




The SIZE of the tummy also makes a difference as to how high the front waist hits. The larger the tummy, the longer that front seam needs to be to reach the waist. If you have a tummy that changes in size, this front waist drop can be a hard choice to make! Apparently, this was a larger tummy day!


I put pockets in these as is my usual M.O. I like jeans-style pockets that lay flat on the tummy (instead of side seam pockets).


Yes, I can squat down in these.


The back waist DOES pull down a little...but I had already determined that the back seam needs to be longer at each end) crotch point and back waist).


Despite the less-than-perfect fit, I have a good range of movement in these.





These pants look ok from behind, but I wish they had more ease right on the bum cheeks. My bum isn't huge and adding some ease there better balances the larger waist/high hip area.

Below, you can see the waist tilt in back. I'll work on that.


Overall the pants are "OK"...but not great.


I used a zipper from my grandmother's stash. Well, that wasn't a great idea...back then, they didn't have a 'lock' feature on the tab, so when I bend over the pants sometimes unzip. That is unacceptable! :)


Choosing the right settings for drafting pants is so hit-and-miss!

My very best-fitting PMB pants are some that I made using 1" of hip ease, but then had to sew out the excess fullness on the sides.

So, I decided that I should use zero ease.

WEll, that is true, I DO need to use ZERO hip ease....

BUT, one thing I forgot to consider is that when you add hip ease, in addition to more ease at sideseam, the pattern's crotch point is also extended.

When I sewed out the excess fabric (jodphurs) on my previous 'best' pants, I did NOT sew out the longer crotch point, too.


So, when I use ZERO HIP EASE, I also need to use a longer crotch point setting than I used when I added some hip ease!


Duh...


Each pant is a learning experience!

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Boy do these look good!
A pretty spring colour too!
Dale

Patti's Blog said...

Trish, these look quite good. I hope you're ok with receiving comments that MIGHT help. Here goes:

FLAT SEAT ADJUSTMENT: I know you know how to do this manually, but I was inspired to see someone else's photos:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/7370831@N07/424123160/in/set-72157600004811376/

Translating to PMB would, I think, be (1) scooping the crotch; 2) raising the waist about mid-way between CB and SS. I, too, have a flat seat (though very large, haha) and this is what I did and it worked beautifully. Never figured out how to get the wait higher where I needed it with PMB, so it's just manual.

KNOCK KNEE ADJUSTMENT: take a small pinch at the outside of knee to see if this doesn't make a nice difference in how pants hang. I have to do this and via PMB I lower the SS by same amount.

Cheers, you do such great fitting, I can't believe I'm giving you hints! I follow your blog and PMBHELP on Yahoo.

Patti in Houston

Trish said...

Patti, I appreciate the tips. Do you think I need to do a flat seat adjustment and knock-knee adjustment? Neither of these had occurred to me...I kinda feel like I need the opposite!

Trish said...

Thanks, Dale!

Audrey said...

I think the fit is pretty darn good. I admire the effort and determination you have, not only fitting pants on yourself, but then trying to incorporate those changes in PMB. I went the "draft a basic pant pattern from measurements and have a professional fit it on me" route. I use the resulting sloper to modify commercial patterns and I still have fitting issues depending on the weight and type of fabric I use. Perfectly fitting pants, the elusive goal.

Patti's Blog said...

Trish, you might try the flat seat first and then the pinch for knock needs. Alternatively, on this pair, pinch a little wedge at the knee and see if it improves anything. If not, then I'm probably wrong in observation.

I studied the Kenneth King ebook on Pants. He starts from scratch. But his principle for fitting is subtraction/addition. Meaning, pinch (or add fabric) to where ever it's needed. Then add/subtract at the nearest seams. Once I started doing this, it FELT right and I could translate that into PMB (usually).

HeathersSphere said...

Your pants look fine from what I see. I find pants harder to fit than tops and dresses. Good for you to discover things that help you achieve your goal.

 
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